How to Reheat Leftovers: The Final Word On Bringing Day-Old Pizza, Pancakes, and Pie Back to Life

Thanks to the microwave, we've become accustomed to eating leftovers that look like Salvador Dali paintings and taste like salty rubber — which is not OK. HuffPo recently enlightened us with a guide to properly reheating food — and, as it turns out, we've been getting it all wrong (exit: microwave). Before you try and nuke those leftover $21 pancakes from Sunday brunch, or pizza from Saturday night for lunch, you might want to take a look at these nifty reheating tricks. It could mean the difference between a warm-on-the-outside, cold-and-soggy-on-the-inside meal, or a nice, hot, delicious plate of food-looking food:

Pizza

Yes, cold pizza is awesome, but fresh, hot pizza is slightly more awesome. Unfortunately, recreating that gooey out-of-the-oven flavor is a little impossible to do in the microwave. HuffPo suggests using a skillet to revamp last nights (or last week’s) pizza. Just three to four minutes on the stove should yield great pizza…again.

Chicken

Oh boy, reheating chicken. This one is literally tough (I had to). There are a couple different ways to reheat chicken, one of which does involve the microwave. Consider it a free pass!

The Skillet Method: Bon Appétit recommends cutting the meat into smaller pieces, and sautéing them in a skillet with oil for about four to five minutes. This should result in a crispy texture, and non-rubbery chicken!

The Microwave Method: According to SFGate, the microwave can be a great way to yield juicy, tender chicken in a matter of minutes. They suggest you put the chicken in in a microwave safe dish and cover with plastic wrap, keeping one corner open. From there, heat on high for three minutes and allow two minutes for the chicken to sit. Then, apparently, it will be juicy.

Pancakes/Waffles

I think this one, dreamed up by The Kitchn, has to be my absolute favorite reheating method. The trick to bring back pancakes? A toaster! Or a toaster oven. Just treat them like Eggo Waffles and you should have delicious brunch treats for a second time. Brilliant!

Pie

There is nothing better than warm pie with ice cream (don't fight me on this) — except for cold pie you eat with one hand like a cookie. But back to the warm pie! For this one, heat the oven to 350 degrees, and stick your pie slices (yes, slices, not whole pie) in for about 8 to 10 minutes. Bon Appétit recommends using little “tinfoil walls” around the sides of the pie piece to keep the pie goo from dripping. Genius.

Some foods aren't worth reheating...

Whatever you do, don't try to bring fish, eggs, or coffee back. Just don’t. They’re usually better cold anyway, but if you’re just dying for hot coffee, HuffPo recommends heating it in the microwave in a mug.